Surprises All 'Round
by NettieC
Summary: The Admiral's difficult week gets better with a surprise at Sunday lunch  that's nothing compared to Harm's surprise though. I've now added a second chapter, so I guess technically this is a twoshot you know what I mean! I have fixed the chapter error.
1. Chapter 1

_**This is a one shot written as a challenge piece on JAGathon. If anyone's interested in writing a story with the same elements (as listed below) I'd love to read it.**_

_**Must include:  
Characters: Harm, Bud, Big Bud, the Admiral  
Items: A wrench, a cell phone, a Playboy magazine and bottle of wine**_

_**Note: - - - - - - - WD40 is a degreaser used to loosen machinery that's stuck!- - - - - - **_

_**Surprises All 'Round  
**_

The Admiral was his normal irritable self. Nothing seemed to be going right in his life and despite his efforts to present an 'everything is well' front, it wasn't. So, it was on a cold, wintry Monday morning Bud and Harm found themselves standing at attention in front of the Admiral's desk while he read them the riot act. He berated them both for what he perceived as inappropriate conduct during the morning briefing and reminded them in no uncertain terms that if either of them so much as put a foot wrong in the immediate future he would personally kick their six out of JAG Corps so fast they wouldn't know what hit them.

Dismissed and sitting in Harm's office, the two were at a loss as to what they had done. True, they had both laughed at a witty comment made by Mac regarding a case to be tried but no court could ever consider it to be inappropriate conduct.

"What do you think the real problem is, sir?" Bud finally asked.

"Don't know, Bud, but there certainly is something larger here."

"I think it's time we brought in an expert." Bud picked up the phone and called the one person he knew could help. "Hi Honey, we need you."

For the rest of the week Bud and Harm found a way to steer clear of the Admiral but late on Friday afternoon Bud took his life in his hands and quietly knocked on his door.

"Enter!" Came the gruff reply.

Bud walked in sheepishly and stood at attention.

"Get on with it Roberts."

"Ah, sir, Harriet and I were wondering if you could come for Sunday lunch."

"Why?"

"No reason, sir, it's just that Harriet thought it would be good to catch up with you before her return to work."

"Well, I don't know, Roberts. I…"

"Please sir, Harriet's just feeling a little stir crazy dealing with AJ and Jimmy all day and a lunch with grown ups is just what she needs."

"Don't beg, Roberts, it doesn't become you. What time?"

"1300 hours, sir."

"Alright, count me in."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The Admiral arrived at the Roberts residence promptly at 1300 and presented Bud with the bottle of wine in his hands when the door was opened.

"Surprise!!!" shouted a chorus of voices from the lounge room as he entered and then began an inharmonious version of Happy Birthday.

The Admiral was more than surprised and a flush of colour spread across his face.

"Happy Birthday, Admiral," said Harriet brightly kissing his cheek.

"Ah, thank you Harriet. I wasn't expecting this, I wasn't expecting anything."

"I know, sir, that's why it was a surprise party.

The Admiral stood and accepted the congratulatory handshakes and kisses from the assembled group. He was quite embarrassed by the show of affection, more so because his behaviour of late hadn't warranted it.

Whilst Bud served drinks and Harriet put the finishing touches to lunch, the Admiral and Harm went out the back to help Big Bud change a flat tyre on little AJ's bike. Harm went into the garage and grabbed the wrench. For all his strength and effort he could not get the nut to give.

"Give it here," the Admiral ordered and attempted it himself, but the result was the same. Big Bud tried and then suggested they add some WD40 and went to find some. Mac came out into the backyard to see what was taking them so long.

"Here you do it," Harm said, offering her the wrench when she laughed at their plight. With one swift move the nut turned, Mac had loosened it. She had just removed it when Big Bud returned with the lubricant. She smiled when she saw his face.

"Never ask a sailor to do a Marine's job," she laughed as she returned to the house.

Deeply embarrassed about what had transpired each of the men silently swore never to repeat the story. Tyre changed and bike returned to the garage the men stopped on the back porch and listened to the sounds of Mac and Harriet laughing heartily in the kitchen. They knew she had told.

Harm's cell phone rang and he put the wrench in his pocket as he pulled the phone out. He answered the phone, said very little and replaced the phone.

"That was Sturgis; he's about ten minutes away."

The men entered the house prepared to face the mocking they knew would be coming and would be well deserved. They still couldn't believe Mac had done it so easily. _I probably loosened it _the Admiral thought to himself. Harm had been thinking the same thing.

Mac made no further comment and despite Harriet bursting into laughter when she saw their faces she said nothing either.

"Lunch is served," Bud called and they all sat down around the table. Sturgis arrived and the table was full. Food, drinks and laughter ensued and everyone seemed to be happy just being in each other's presence – just what Harriet had hoped for.

After lunch finished, the cake was brought out with six candles alight on top. They sang Happy Birthday again, no better than their earlier attempt and the Admiral blew out the candles and made a silent wish. When coffee had been served Big Bud called Harm out to the backyard and many curious eyes set upon the pair as they exited. Through the curtained windows Bud could see the two exchange a few words and then his father had produced paperwork of sorts. Harm had then reacted with stunned surprise and his father had patted his arm in an act that could only be described as supportive.

When Bud could stand it no more he went out to them.

"What's going on?" he asked looking at Harm's ghostly face.

"Oh nothing son, the Commander and I were just chatting and …"

"I'm not buying it dad. What were you looking at?"

Harm reluctantly opened the magazine that had been folded in his hand.

"Good God," the Admiral exclaimed from behind Bud, he had come from nowhere. "That's some picture."

All four men stood and stared at the centrefold of the Playboy magazine. A sexy woman, clad in nothing but a Marine cover with a strategically placed Stars and Stripes stared back. And although none of them voiced it they each knew the woman was the image of Mac.

"What are you up to?" Harriet called from the back door and like little kids sprung getting up to mischief, each mumbled protests of innocence and embarrassed headed back into the house. All except for Harm who sat on the back steps and looked at the picture.

"Hey Flyboy," Mac said startling him. "You coming in?"

"Uh no, I mean yeah in a minute."

"Harm, what are you doing?" she asked coming closer. He folded the magazine and tucked it under his arm.

"Nothing."

"Oh, okay," she was unconvinced and walked down the steps and stood in front of him.

"Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me," she said in a low and seductive voice, catching Harm completely off guard.

"Oh, uh," he flushed bright red and tried to collect his thoughts. "Oh, it's…it's…I mean…it's a wrench," he said finally removing the metallic object from his pocket. "I forgot to put it away and …"

"Relax Harm, I was joking." She smiled and walked back into the house.

Harm sat a while longer before joining the group; the truth was he had been happy to see her.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxooxoxox

Next morning, Bud and Harm again found themselves standing at attention in front of the Admiral's desk after their Monday morning briefing. Both had tried their best not to say or do anything to irk the Admiral as even though they had all enjoyed themselves the day before, they could still hear the echoes of the Admiral's tirade of a week ago.

"Well, here we are again. Another Monday morning and I have cause to speak to you both. This is getting to be a regular routine and one that I do not like."

The Admiral watched the nervous faces in front of him. He had them where he wanted. "Firstly, thank you once again Bud for yesterday, I appreciate the effort and the sentiment."

"You're welcome, sir."

"Secondly, that magazine picture, while I'm sure we all agree it is most likely not the Colonel, we need to establish it before we get inundated with special requests for her representation. Commander Rabb, I am giving this one to you. Speak to the Colonel, make her aware of the situation and get her feedback as to where we go from here."

"But sir…are you sure I'm the one who…" His face coloured.

"Yes Commander, I'm sure. That will be all."

"Aye, aye sir," they both said in unison before pausing momentarily and departing.

The Admiral sat back in his chair and smiled smugly to himself. He had put Rabb in an uncomfortable situation, as Rabb had frequently done to him. This was payback.

"Ah, this will be a much better week," The Admiral said laughing happily.


	2. Chapter 2

Mac watched with amusement as Harm walked by her door several times, each time pausing slightly longer trying to decide whether to go in or not. When he finally made up his mind and decided 'not', Mac went into the break room to refill her coffee mug.

Leaning back on the counter, waiting for the coffee pot to refill, she was lost in thought when Harm came in.

"Oh, ah, Mac, I didn't know you were in here," he muttered.

"I didn't know I had to clear it with you." She smiled.

"Oh, no, no you don't. It's just I was going…"

"Harm, what's wrong? You seem very nervous."

"No, I'm not nervous." It was an automatic and defensive reply. "I just need to talk to you about something and …"

"Go ahead."

"Not here!"

"No…well, my office didn't seem to suit you either." Mac grinned and Harm knew she had seen him.

"Could we grab dinner tonight?" His voice was full of mystery.

"Are we allowed to have this conversation in public?" Mac replied, amused at his level of discomfort.

Harm paused and considered her question. "Maybe you're right. How about I pick up dinner and come over? Is that alright?"

Mac nodded.

"Ah, good. So tonight, dinner, your place and we can talk," Harm said more to himself for reassurance than to Mac for confirmation. He left and Mac grabbed her coffee mug. "An interesting evening for sure," she chuckled to herself.

xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxooxox

Mac had been home nearly an hour before she sensed someone at her door. She took a quick look through the peep hole and smiled when she saw Harm pacing back and forth. She opened the door.

"Hey Harm, you planning on coming in?" she asked as she stood aside.

"Oh, yeah." He took two steps towards her.

"Weren't you bringing dinner?" Mac asked.

"Dinner?" He stared at her disbelieving. "Damn!" He fled down the stairs.

Half an hour later he returned with a bag of Chinese food and knocked on the door.

Mac opened it, tried to stifle a grin and stepped aside, once again, to let him in.

"What's for dinner?" Mac asked. "It smells great."

"I, ah, I got a few different things."

"Great!" Mac retrieved two bottles of water from the fridge and napkins from the cabinet. When she returned, Harm was still standing in the middle of the room, bag in hand.

Mac went to him, took the bag and placed it on the coffee table.

"Harm, come and eat." Obediently he followed her directions but he wasn't much in the mood for food. Mac couldn't help but smile at his nervousness. It wasn't a fear based worry, that was evident. She knew it had to do with her…he was nervous about her. She smiled again.

"What do you keep smiling at?" Harm finally asked.

"You."

"Me? Why?"

"You're just not yourself." Mac scooped up another prawn.

"And that's funny?" Harm asked and Mac smiled again. It just made Harm worse.

"No, it's not. I'm sorry." Mac tried to keep a straight face but struggled. She knew this type of nervousness. She had experienced it firsthand. It was only two months ago Harm had come into her office in his Class A uniform, flashed her his trademark Flyboy grin, made some comment which for the life of her she couldn't remember, and set her heart, not to mention the rest of her, racing. For the next week she had been so nervous around him she misspelled her name on two reports. It was then she realised things had to change.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

After Mac finished eating and Harm gave up the pretense of eating, she cleared away the remnants before sitting back on the sofa.

"Now, Harm, what do we need to talk about?"

Harm stood up and paced around the room. "Well, Mac, it's like this…well, I…I mean the Admiral wanted me to address a certain issue with you..."

"The Admiral, really?" Mac began to experience a few nerves of her own.

"It has come to my, his, attention that there seems to be a picture… photograph…in a certain magazine which may um…affect your image…um…" A flush of embarrassment crept into his cheeks.

"God no!" Mac jumped to her feet. "The Admiral's seen that photo?" The colour had drained from her face.

"You know about the photo?" Harm asked opening the magazine he's had in his back pocket.

"Know it? I had it taken." She grabbed it from him.

"You…you had it…It's you?" Harm stuttered.

"How on Earth did the Admiral see it?"

"He came up behind me and Bud when the Master Chief had the page open."

"Bud's seen it too? Oh God!" Mac ran off into her bedroom.

Harm stood alone in the living area for a while longer not sure what his next move should be. Eventually he moved towards her room and tentatively knocked on the door.

"Mac, can I come in, please?" There was no reply. "Are you okay?" Still nothing.

Harm opened the door and found her sitting on the edge of her bed. "Hey." He sat beside her. "Want to tell me about it?"

Mac looked up at him, big brown eyes glistening from unshed tears. She unrolled the magazine she still had clasped in her hand and opened it to her page.

"I ran into a college friend recently and she's now a pretty well known photographer. We got talking and I mentioned how I wanted to do something a bit different as a surprise for someone. So she took the picture." Mac stared at the page.

"How did it get from that to being in Playboy?" asked Harm flustered.

"It's not in every edition – just that one edition."

"Huh? I don't get it. If it was only that one how did Big Bud get it?"

"I gave it…"

"Mac??? Your surprise was for Master Chief Roberts?"

"No…idiot!" Mac mumbled. "He was supposed to give it to you."

"Me?"

"Yes you. Didn't you get that from the photo?"

"Um, no."

"Didn't you look at the picture?"

"Well no, not exactly…well, maybe a bit," Harm confessed. Although the truth was he had studied every square inch of it – not of the whole photo actually, just her.

Mac tossed him the magazine. "Look at it again then." She walked out.

Harm ran his eyes over the photograph again. Again he saw the amazing body, the curve of her leg, her amazing smile, the top of her… And then he spied it – he'd been so engrossed with the woman he'd missed the Stars and Stripes. He looked down at the print. Half way through the first column the font changed and the sentence read:

_Harm, don't you think it's about time? _Harm read and reread it four times.

Slowly he emerged from the bedroom and saw Mac sitting on the sofa, knees drawn to her chest. He sat down next to her, lifting her legs and placing them across his lap.

"Don't I think it's about time for what exactly, Mac?" he asked.

"For us to get our act together," Mac said quietly. Harm nodded.

"Look, Mac, I appreciate the photo, I mean…wow! But why didn't you just say something?" He raised her chin so she'd look at him.

Mac smiled. "I have Harm…many times, but you just never seemed to be interested…I wanted a way to get your attention."

"Well, it definitely did that and not just mine."

"No one else was meant to see it. Big Bud wanted me to do something for him so we traded favours and …God, I should have known." She shook her head and silence ensued.

Finally, Harm started laughing, at first it was just a quiet chuckle but soon it gained momentum.

"Why are you laughing?" Mac asked.

"Because you look so nervous…" He laughed again.

"And?"

"And if that's the way I looked when I got here I'm surprised you weren't in hysterics." He laughed again and Mac joined him. Soon she closed her eyes and rested her head on the sofa.

"Surprises all 'round," Mac said, eyes still shut.

"Yeah, is there room for one more?" Harm asked.

"Yep - always room for one more," Mac said opening her eyes and turning to him.

"How about this one?" Harm moved in and captured her mouth with his. He kissed her gently and was more than surprised when she moved forward, pushing him backwards on the sofa.

All too soon she pulled away. "Harm, don't you think it's about time?" she asked. Before she could kiss him again, he scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. "Definitely," he whispered. "Definitely."


End file.
